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Search results ranking has consistently been a highly competitive landscape. Usually, big corporations top the ranks because they have the help of leading marketing experts.
For startups and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) that do not have a big digital marketing team or none, outsourcing SEO services can help get the ball rolling and slowly climb up the ranks.
If you have been looking for alternatives to ramp up your digital marketing efforts, this article is for you. Here, we are sharing a comprehensive guide to outsourcing SEO services to help you maximize your investment.
What Is SEO Outsourcing?
Basically, this is when you, Company A, hire or partner with a digital marketing agency, Company B, for their expertise in search engine optimization.
Outsourcing SEO services usually happens when your business needs help to optimize your website to increase its visibility for search engines like Google and Bing.
This is especially true if you are just starting out or are in a slump with your marketing efforts.
Also Read: What Makes Digital Marketing Agency Effective?
How Does Outsourcing SEO Services Help Streamline Your Marketing Efforts?
There are a lot of ways to help streamline digital marketing efforts and outsourcing SEO is just one of many.
With that said, this particular tactic that you are possibly considering right now will help you achieve the following:
#1. Achieve SMART Goals
The first thing you can achieve by outsourcing SEO services to digital marketing agencies is achieving your specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) goals.
SEO itself already has certain metrics that help you track your website’s performance. With the help of an outsourced agency, you are more likely to see an uptrend over time compared to your present efforts.
Of course, it is important to note that any significant change in your website’s rank will take time. But, having a group of experts to back you up will lead you in the right direction.
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#2. Optimize Your Team
If you are a startup or have a small business, then chances are your in-house team is small. Regardless if you already have an in-house SEO specialist, outsourcing to a digital marketing agency can help you optimize your team.
For one, it saves you the hassle of recruiting and onboarding. The process of hiring a new team member will potentially eat away some of your time that you can put to better use.
The second reason is the SEO services offered by agencies give you the option to either just get an SEO specialist to help your in-house team or assemble a remote team, which is usually made up of an SEO expert, a content writer, a graphic designer, and developer, to focus on improving your website.
Lastly, in relation to the second reason, since you already have a team of experts taking care of your website, this frees up your existing team to focus on other aspects of your overall marketing efforts for you to see results faster.
Read: Tips for Efficient eCommerce Business Success
Why Outsource SEO Services?
So, out of all the available options for streamlining and improving your marketing efforts, why should you consider outsourcing?
Aside from achieving the things mentioned earlier, here are a couple of reasons to outsource SEO that you may want to consider:
#1. Get Faster Results
Partnering with a digital marketing agency for your business’ SEO needs can easily work with what you currently have, specifically your website. From there, they can improve it by applying strategies that they have fine-tuned over the years.
More importantly, if you already have a substantial amount of organic traffic and your website is performing well, with the help of their expertise, you will see results quickly compared to what you have seen before.
Of course, even if you are just able to create your website, the marketing agency can help expedite the process and ensure it is properly optimized from the ground up.
Moreover, they can also steer your poor-performing website in the right direction to yield better results over time.
Read: Ways To Increase Your Website Traffic Without SEO
#2. No Learning Curve
One of the biggest boons to outsourcing SEO services instead of hiring another team member is that there is no learning curve.
Aside from just being briefed on your company, your needs, and your goals, a digital marketing agency can easily get started right off the bat.
Since you hired experts, they already understand the challenges your website faces and know how to resolve these.
#3. Bolster Your Marketing Strategy
Another big plus is that it can improve your overall marketing strategy. Aside from just helping improve your website’s organic traffic and increase leads, they can also help you in other areas:
- Keyword Research and Strategy
- Content Strategy
- Creation of Monthly Content Calendar
- Content Marketing
- Link Building
Read: Best Ways To Attract Maximum Customers To eCommerce Store
#4. Access to Skilled Experts and Powerful SEO Tools
Aside from working with experts, partnering with a digital marketing agency also gives you access to powerful SEO tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs, and Moz.
These two are a big plus for two reasons: One, you have the opportunity to learn from skilled experts, especially if you partner with an agency that really helps you enrich your understanding of digital marketing.
Two, you have access to the best marketing tools available in the market, which are normally expensive.
#5. Save Time
They say time is money. In this case, having an expert to take care of your website and SEO campaigns frees you up to focus on other aspects of your business.
Furthermore, imagine if you opted to hire an in-house SEO expert. It will eat up a lot of your precious time that you could have dedicated to actually further grow your company.
#6. Save Money
Aside from saving time, you are also saving on unnecessary costs. Hiring a full-time employee right now may not be the best decision, especially if other aspects of your business need more attention and resources.
SEO services offered by a digital marketing agency provide you with both experts and resources. In addition, you have the option to save more by outsourcing to the Philippines or other countries that have lower labor costs.
Related: 5 Ways To Be Successful SEO Consultant in London
#7. Ensure White Hat Practices Are Applied
SEO is a complex process. If you or your in-house team are not an expert, then it is possible that you may make some mistakes that will negatively impact your website.
Thankfully, the digital marketing agency that you partner with can help ensure you are following only “white hat” or good practices.
#8. Stay Up To Date With SEO Trends
As experts, a digital marketing agency also makes sure they are up to date with the latest marketing trends to remain competitive.
Consequently, because you also learn from them, this also ensures that you adapt to the latest updates and leverage these for the benefit of your business.
How to Properly Outsource SEO Services
With that said, if you prefer to outsource your SEO needs then might as well do it right. Right? So, to help you really maximize your investment, here is a guide to help you choose the right digital marketing agency to partner with.
#1. Consider Your Business and SEO Goals
Even if you are already set on outsourcing SEO services to an agency, there are a few things you need to be crystal clear on. Specifically, your goals.
If you do not have a specific goal yet, other than improving your website’s SEO performance, then consider creating SMART goals.
These will be the benchmark to help you identify a couple of important things, like: “How long with you be working with the agency?” “How much of your resources can you allot to outsource?”
Moreover, having a specific goal in mind will make it easier for you to choose the right partner and will influence how much you are willing to invest.
#2. Do Your Homework
Outsourcing SEO opens you up to a lot of options, specifically whether you are going to partner with an agency from within your country, from neighboring states, or from another side of the world.
With that said, if you are mindful of costs and want to make sure you maximize your investment, then you may consider outsourcing to the Philippines or to other top offshoring destinations.
If you have decided where you are going to outsource, naturally, you also need to research which of the best agencies in the country best fits your specific needs and goals.
One way to ensure an agency is reliable is to ask your peers for recommendations and their experiences with the provider they partnered with in the past.
#3. Discuss With Potential Agencies Their Process and Metrics
Once you have whittled down your list of digital marketing agencies that you want to partner with, you can get started on reaching out and talking with them.
They will make sure to offer you a list of their services and how they can help your business. As the customer, it is important that you also prepare your list of questions to help you decide if they are the right partner for you.
#4. Consider the Fine Details Before You Jump In
Lastly, before you jump in and partner with an agency, make sure also clarify the following things as well:
- The services that they will be providing.
- The process of collaboration and reporting between your in-house team and the agency
- The frequency of communication between parties
- The people involved in the project and their assigned tasks.
- The length of time the agency will work with you.
- The frequency and cost of the payment
Aside from these, make sure to cover all bases to minimize potential risks as well and ensure everyone is on the same page.
Should You Outsource SEO Services or Not?
With everything mentioned above, the key determining factors that you need to really weigh on are your business’ present capabilities, the resources you can expend right now, and the return on investment you will get if you do go for it.
What is important is that you do your due diligence first and carefully consider the cost and benefit of outsourcing SEO services to help you make an informed decision.
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